By Michele Forte, Executive Director of Mission Advancement
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2022 Annual Report issue of our magazine 'Sowing Goodness.'
Coming down from the sloped golden field to the ocean, they stepped into the kelp beds to spear fish and gather mussels. The river weaving through the land was a constant freshwater source and, even today, the rounded stones near the beach are evidence of where Native Americans ground their meals. Now known as Carmel, California, and the Kelp Highway, eleven different Native American tribes spent time on this seashore.
Nearly a hundred years ago, in 1930, Lady Maria Antonia de Munras Field gifted this beautiful ocean-view property in Carmel to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (SNDdeN) in honor of her former teacher and cherished friend’s 25th Jubilee. This treasure is now a spirituality center for the SNDdeN, known as Villa Angelica and the House of Prayer.
Sister Michelle Henault, SNDdeN, Co-Director of the center shares: “People come for retreat, rest, and prayer, continuing in the spirit of the Native Americans. The Sisters have a tremendous sense of gratitude."
In February 2022, Sister Theresa Linehan, SNDdeN, an enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans, led a retreat in Carmel for several SNDdeN and other women religious to create a deeper understanding about the spirituality of the earth and a sense of connectedness. Sister Theresa said that: “Being aware of the land they were on, and its history made a real difference for them. You must go beyond being in nature to being with nature to really understand that we are part of earth and that what we do to ourselves we do to earth and the earth returns in kind.”